Euroleague
Photo: Euroleague

The 2017 EuroLeague Final Four officially started today with the Opening Press Conference that took place at the magnificent “Ciragan Palace”.

Olympiacos’ Giannis Sfairopoulos and captain Vassilis Spanoulis, CSKA Moscow’s Dimitris Itoudis and Nando De Colo, Fenerbahce’s Zeljko Obradovic and Bogdan Bogdanovic as well as Real Madrid’s Pablo Laso and (MVP candidate) Sergio Llull talked about tomorrow’s extraordinary semi-finals.

The “Reds’”coach mentioned his team needs to forget what happened in 2015, as the Muscovites now are the defending champions, adding that he is expecting a series of exciting matches.

For his part, Spanoulis said Olympiacos has earned their opponents’ respect, thanks to the club’s accomplishments, while the squad’s target on Friday will be to “control the tempo and stick to its game plan”, according to the 35-year-old guard.

rednews.gr
Photo: rednews.gr

On the other hand, coach Itoudis said Teodosic is still injured, however he will do his best to play on Friday, expressing his satisfaction for the new format and stating that the Final Four is not about him and Obradovic.

Moreover, De Colo told the media that all four clubs deserve to be in the semi-finals, while, according to him, Spanoulis’ performances and achievements have helped Olympiacos qualify to the Final Four for the sixth time in the last nine years.

Regarding Fenerbahce, Obradovic mentioned the club is very happy for their presence in the Final-Four, adding his players are more experienced, as this is their third straight Final-Four appearance, and this will undoubtedly help them on Friday’s game.

Bogdanovic said he will take part in two special games, as he is only focused on winning the title for the first time in his career.

Concerning the Madrid squad, Laso talked about the difference of each Final Four, while the presence of all four teams in the event certifies their quality, according to the Spanish coach.

Last but not least, MVP candidate, Sergio Llull, added that his team-mates should be fully concentrated in tomorrow’s game and not lose their pace, stating he is expecting a very tough battle.

*Semi-Final B: CSKA Moscow vs Olympiacos: Friday, May 19, 17:30 CET

Semi-Final A: Fenerbahce vs Real Madrid: Friday, May 19, 20:30 CET